Parent Teacher Conference
by fictorium
Summary: In Storybrooke, post-curse, some things don't exactly change.


Mary Margaret sighs heavily, resisting a strong urge to just bang her head against the table. This is why she insisted the Mayor be given the last appointment of the evening, and it's actually even worse than Mary Margaret predicted.

Finally, she can take no more and she resorts to every teacher's back-up plan - slamming a book down on the desk to refocus attention.

"Regina—" Mary Margaret begins, but Emma is the one to interrupt.

"Can you tell her that straight A's is not the only thing that matters in life?" Emma asks, her face still flushed from the loud argument that's been raging between her and Regina for the past ten minutes. Mary Margaret should never have allowed them both to attend the conference at the same time; it's a rookie mistake.

"As I was explaining to both of you—" Mary Margaret attempts again.

"Nonsense," Regina snaps. "Good academic performance is the only way to secure a good future for Henry. Or did you want him chasing down criminals on commission like you once he drops out of school?"

"Oh, you have got a nerve," Emma fires back, pounding her fist on her undersized desk. "When the whole reason I have the life I have is that you forced my parents to—"

"Enough!" Mary Margaret snaps, because she's been hearing variations on this fight for three months now. She's as scarred as anyone by Regina's actions, but now that the curse has broken and they're all living freely in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret is kind of… _done_ with rehashing the past. She wants to get home to David, who has promised her a bubble bath beyond her wildest dreams as a reward for not killing any overprotective parents.

Emma has the good grace to look sorry, but Regina is as sourly defiant as ever. Mary Margaret takes a deep breath and summons a newly-restored memory of the Regina she first met, and forces herself to forgive one more time.

"You're both in detention for the next half hour while I finish up for the night. I'll be right next door, and I don't want to hear another word of argument, do you understand?"

"You can't—' Regina starts to say, the words dripping with scorn.

"_Do you understand_?" Mary Margaret snaps, and both of the other women nod reluctantly.

She picks up her folder and pen, marching into the classroom next door to finish up her notes. It's tempting to just ditch work altogether and head home, but Mary Margaret knows it has to be finished. She's in full-flow for at least ten minutes, writing down the concerns Paige's parents have about her concentration, and Petey's obsession with wandering off into the woods at any possible opportunity. It's only as Mary Margaret pulls out a fresh sheet of paper that she notices it's been suspiciously quiet next door.

Sighing, she gets up to peer into the other classroom, and instantly has to look away.

Emma has Regina pinned on the floor in the midst of the neat rows of desks, and their previous neat clothing is well, halfway to lying on the floor next to them. Mary Margaret wonders if she shouldn't just ignore it and let them walk out of there when the time is up, but no, that's her classroom and sometimes being a mother (admittedly twenty-nine years late) means living through intensely awkward situations.

"Ladies," Mary Margaret calls through the door after opening it slightly. "This is not what the timeout was intended for."

There's some muted cursing, and a lot of thumping and fumbling for a minute.

"Sorry," Emma calls out, eventually. "We, uh—"

"I know you're working out your issues," Mary Margaret replies, still not looking directly into the classroom. "But I think perhaps the time for denying you're still in a relationship is over, hmm?"

"But she cursed everyone, and—" Emma begins again.

"Yet here you are. Being completely inappropriate in a classroom. Just like last week when you had to be thrown out of Granny's when you were supposed to be talking about Henry's summer camp. Or the time at the playground when—"

"Enough," Regina snaps, striding across the classroom, looking almost completely unruffled. Her hair is still a little mussed though, but she stares Mary Margaret down. "I've made my position quite clear. Perhaps you should have a little mother-daughter talk."

"Don't tell me how to deal with my daughter, Regina," Mary Margaret warns, because she only has so much patience. "And perhaps a little more showing you're sorry would help."

"I'll deal with it," Emma says, coming across and hesitating before taking Regina's hand. "We'll deal with it. For Henry's sake, at least."

"Good," Mary Margaret nods, reaching for the lightswitch and ushering both women towards the exit. "Now please, work this out without your own Deputy having to arrest you, Emma."

"Sorry," Regina mutters, staring at the floor. It's not clear exactly who the apology is intended for, but both Emma and Mary Margaret relax a little at the admission.

"Go on, get out of here," Mary Margaret scolds, her own mind already made up: the rest of the paperwork really can wait until morning. She has an overdue appointment with some bubbles and making up for lost time, after all.

She watches her daughter walk out, clutching the hand of the last person Mary Margaret would have wished for her, and feels an odd kind of peace. It's not quite a happy ending, not yet, but it's a hell of a lot closer than it used to be.


End file.
